"Squirrel Mandarin Fish? Can a squirrel and fish taste good together?" Kushina expressed her doubt.
"It's probably not made with squirrels and fish together, maybe the finished dish just looks like a squirrel," suggested Minato after washing the vegetables.
Since he hadn't washed any squirrels, there shouldn't be any in the dish.
"Minato is right, there are no squirrels in this dish," Mokgetsu said as he cleaned the fish, removing scales and guts, and explained.
Squirrel Mandarin Fish is a very classic dish in Su cuisine, known for its color, aroma, and taste.
Mokgetsu had watched many videos and even tried making it once in his past life, but due to his poor knife skills, the final dish hardly resembled the original.
But now, with the Chef Skill, Mokgetsu already had a plan for handling the fish in his mind before he even started.
Mokgetsu first sliced off the fish's backbone with a knife, leaving about 1 centimeter of spine near the tail, then spread the fish skin-side down, cutting diagonally to create a pattern about four-fifths deep into the flesh.
This step is crucial; any mistake will result in a subpar appearance.
With the Kitchen God Skill, Mokgetsu perfectly recreated the Squirrel Mandarin Fish from his memory. The golden, crispy fish flesh resembled a squirrel and, topped with a prepared sweet and sour sauce, it was both visually appealing and fragrant.
"Huh? How did the fish turn out like this while I was chatting with Minato?" Kushina stared in amazement at the Squirrel Mandarin Fish on the table.
It's no exaggeration to say she had never seen such a beautiful dish.
In her mind, food was first to fill the stomach and secondly to taste good.
Minato stood up and walked to the table for a closer look at the freshly cooked Squirrel Mandarin Fish, also surprised by the dish's appearance.
"This is my first time thinking a dish looks beautiful," Minato praised, captivated by Mokgetsu's Squirrel Mandarin Fish.
"Don't just look at it, try some," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
Neither Kushina nor Minato hesitated, each picking up a piece of fish with their chopsticks.
As soon as Minato tasted the fish, he first sensed the sweet and sour flavor, followed by the crispy exterior and tender interior, with the sweet and sour taste permeating the fish.
Once out of his daze, Minato quickly served himself a bowl of rice and started eating; this sweet and sour dish was incredibly appetizing.
"No way, either Minato or I must learn this dish!" Kushina declared seriously after the meal.
Although she still preferred braised pork, the appearance of Squirrel Mandarin Fish was a big plus.
"No problem, I'll teach you," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
"However, this dish is much harder than braised pork, so be prepared." Mokgetsu warned.
Braised pork doesn't require attention to appearance, and as long as the steps are correct, the result won't be too bad.
But Squirrel Mandarin Fish is different; the appearance is the soul of this dish. If the appearance is off, it's basically a failure.
"I don't believe this dish can be harder than those advanced fuinjutsu techniques," Kushina had confidence in herself and Minato.
"Mokgetsu, how is your Three-Finger Seal cultivation going? Any issues?" Minato inquired about Mokgetsu's advancement in fuinjutsu.
"It feels much harder than the One-Finger Seal. After ten days of training, I still don't have a clue," Mokgetsu said with a sigh.
Although Mokgetsu had mastered it in six days, he planned to claim completion on the twenty-seventh day, given that Kushina estimated a month.
Then Mokgetsu described the problem he encountered on the first day, looking like an eager learner.
Kushina and Minato were both enthusiastic in helping Mokgetsu.
Mokgetsu didn't waste this chance and besides pretending about his cultivation progress, he also asked genuine questions about fuinjutsu that he didn't understand.
With two fuinjutsu experts like Minato and Kushina offering guidance, Mokgetsu gained a lot, feeling like the Chef Skill was perfectly timed.
Without the Chef Skill, the progress in his social plan would have been much slower.
...
Two days after the final exams, Hagane Kotetsu, Kamizuki Izumo, and Anko arranged to go see their results together.
After arriving at the agreed location, the three headed to the school.
"I came in second again in practice; if only my theoretical scores were better, I could ask Teacher Mokgetsu for more rewards." Anko was in a great mood today.
"Anko, didn't you say the questions seemed simple after the exam? Your score must be high," Hagane Kotetsu said with a laugh.
"Yeah, we're the ones in trouble; we weren't confident in many questions," Kamizuki Izumo said, looking worried.
"No worries, once we see the results, breakfast is on me," Anko said generously.
"Anko, really?" Hagane Kotetsu expressed anticipation.
"When have I ever lied to you?" Anko asked with hands on her hips.
Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo exchanged glances, shaking their heads, thinking to themselves, who would Anko ever deceive?
As they neared the school, Anko remembered something and suspiciously asked them, "Last time you both got such good scores, were you pretending to do poorly to trick me?"
"No way, last time was just luck," Hagane Kotetsu refused to admit.
"Yeah, we might not be so lucky this time," Kamizuki Izumo sighed.
For the final exams, they could check the results on the bulletin board or directly in the classroom by looking at their returned test papers; the three went straight to the classroom where Mokgetsu had already distributed the test papers to each student's desk.
The three greeted Mokgetsu and returned to their seats to look at their papers.
"Hey, why only seventy-eight? Two less than last time," Anko put down her test paper, scratching her head, confused. She expected more like eighty-seven.
"Kotetsu, Izumo, what about you?" Anko asked with a worried face, pondering how to face Teacher Mokgetsu.
"It seems luck was on my side too this time; I scored slightly higher than you," Hagane Kotetsu placed his paper face down on the desk, smiling.
"Me too, my score's also slightly higher than Anko's," Kamizuki Izumo smiled upon seeing his result.
"Slightly higher?" Anko burst out and quickly snatched both their test papers.
"You call a hundred versus seventy-eight slightly higher?" Anko said through gritted teeth as she looked at their scores.
"Kotetsu also got a hundred?"
"Izumo also got a hundred?"
Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo were shocked; they had not planned to score perfectly without studying.
"Izumo, did you lie to me about playing games before the exam? Were you secretly studying?" Hagane Kotetsu couldn't help but ask.
"And weren't you reading novels, Kotetsu? Were you secretly studying every day?" Kamizuki Izumo retorted.
"You two!" Anko stared at them, realizing they were secretly working hard while saying they weren't studying.
Unable to hold back, Anko chased them down to hit them.
"You two jerks! You messed me up! Forget breakfast, first take a punch from me!"
Watching the lively trio, Mokgetsu smiled, looking at the system's newly issued rewards, feeling like this term's gains were quite good.